DFA: No Filipino fatalities in Israel

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that there are no confirmed fatalities of Filipinos in Israel yet amid the massive attack conducted by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but approximately seven Filipinos remain unaccounted for.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega made the statement during the Malacañang press briefing on Tuesday, saying that the Philippine government is closely coordinating with the Israeli government and the International Defense Forces (IDF) to locate the missing Filipinos.

"We heard about (the news). We cannot confirm it because we do not want to confirm anything without being absolutely certain of the facts," de Vega said.

"But we would like to emphasize that the President himself has already stated, on behalf of the Filipino nation, that we condemn this act of violence, especially against civilians," he added.

Department of Migrant Workers Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac, who was also present during the briefing, said that the DMW is also in contact with the employers of Filipino overseas workers (OFWs) in Israel to gather information on their whereabouts.

"We are hopeful that the number of OFWs whose status we are still trying to update will continue to decrease. It was around 15 or 16 last weekend. So we have been gradually accounting for the status of our respective OFWs. In total, there were 83, but we are making progress in updating their status and accounting for most of them," Cacdac said.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Administrator Arnell Ignacio said that the wife of one of the missing Filipinos, Gallenir Leandro Pacheco, claims to have seen her husband in a video.

However, Ignacio said that OWWA is still verifying the information and asked Filipinos to be cautious about sharing unconfirmed information on social media.

"The wife of Gallenir Leandro Pacheco claims to have seen her husband in a video, but as I've said, we want to be completely sure. So we have taken her into OWWA for now to provide her with support and comfort, along with her child," Ignacio said.

"Most of the reports that you receive, we also receive. But we exercise extreme caution in sharing such information with the media because, as in previous reports—upon verification— they often turn out to be untrue. We appeal to our fellow Filipinos, each time you transmit information from your location, it can jeopardize your situation and instill unnecessary fear among our countrymen. So it's best that we be very cautious about sharing unconfirmed and unverified information before making it public," Ignacio added.

De Vega added that the Philippine government is grateful to the State of Israel for its assurance that it will protect all nationals, including Filipinos.

"We would also like to express our gratitude to the State of Israel. Their Ambassador here has assured us that they will not only protect their own citizens but also other nationals, including Filipinos," de Vega said.

The Philippine government continues to monitor the situation in Israel and is providing assistance to Filipinos who have been affected by the conflict.